ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR II - PART 1

ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR II - PART 1 07/23/04


Alex Shelley vs. Doug Williams
Doesn't match the greatness that was their bout the week before at Reborn: Completion, but this was a really good one as well. This felt like a good follow-up to that said previous match of theirs, as it felt like both guys, especially Alex Shelley, had learned from that match & came to this w/ a new mindset. I really liked how Shelley seemed much more focused here - he was still cocky as hell of course, but it felt like he wasn't gonna let Doug expose any weaknesses this time around. His work over Doug's neck throughout to soften him up for his finishing submission was some good stuff, as was Doug's performance being in peril for most of the bout. ***1/4

BJ Whitmer & Dan Maff vs. Low Ki & Rocky Romero
This started off with way too much Whitmer & Maff on the offensive side of things. They're not the most interesting duo anyway, but watching them dominate the early sections of the match was very unappealing ESPECIALLY with this being Low Ki's first match back after turning heel & joining The Rottweilers. Pretty baffling stuff in all honesty. This did become a very good match by the end of things though, because thankfully Ki came in & took charge of things, leading up to a really nice Maff FIP segment, which then lead to a pretty great BJ Whitmer hot tag. Awesome finishing stretch as well + the finish was was really nice considering the fact that Rocky & Ki did target Maff's shoulder quite a bit. ***

Austin Aries, Jack Evans & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs, John Walters & Matt Stryker
A yet another banger of a tag match featuring Generation Next. They did such a compelling job cutting the ring in half, so to say, here; really enjoyed their work over Stryker's leg - watching them execute their number on the bodypart with frequent tags & great teamwork was a joy. I thought that Jacobs' hot tag at first was a bit weak, but the Gen Next lads cut that shit off very quickly by utilizing their great teamwork to distract the ref & triple-team to gain the advantage back. Jimmy's FIP segment was really good with all three Gen Next members looking good dominating him - in particular Roddy looked really good in there almost ragdolling Jimmy around. Everything from Jacobs' hot tag afterwards is some chaotic, fun stuff too, even if it is a bit annoying that it mostly is with everyone involved fighting in the ring - this match had some great bits revolving around the ref getting distracted & the heels using that to their advantage, and that certainly made that said finishing stretch w/ all six men being in there feel extra silly, but as mentioned, it was still a fun & chaotic conclusion to the bout. Mark Nulty on commentary also covered for it really well with him explaining what-might-be the reasons for the ref to allow it happen, so a shout-out to him as well. ***1/2

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe
Sadly this didn't reach the greatness that was their meeting at Generation Next. I would put this on par with their Reborn match, meaning it's a good one. It didn't truly hook me in like that said match of theirs at Generation Next, but with this being Homicide vs. Samoa Joe & it having such a heated, hot angle behind it? Of course it was good shit. Lots of violence as they peppered into each other throughout with brutal strikes & bombs. A couple of real nice nearfalls towards the end as well. ***

CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe
This completes the 2004 trilogy between these two teams. It's a very good match. It goes almost 40-minutes, and it doesn't really feel like it because of how well it naturally builds from fall-to-fall-to-fall. I loved how the first fall ended with The Briscoes brilliantly isolating Punk; Punk manages to get the hot tag to Cabana though & they run wild on The Briscoes for a bit, but THEN Punk makes the crucial mistake of tagging himself in, which ends up in him eating the Jay Driller moments later for the challengers to go 1-0. A pretty great way to get this match going, that whole fall was. 2nd fall wasn't as interesting as the first one w/ its action, but it's still solid stuff & continues the good story they're telling so it's all good. And the final fall completes that story very nicely with the action obviously hitting that second gear once Punk returns. Quality stuff. I would probably rank this as the weakest of their matches, but that just goes to show you how good of a tag team pairing The Briscoes & The Saints were. ***1/2